Katty Lau
"Ronit helped me understand how my limited perception of reality and feelings of powerlessness was shaped by my environment growing up, and how my suffering was not due to my inadequacy of ‘not being good enough.'"
I had the honor of meeting Ronit through a chance meeting in 2016 and was invited to be part of the Leap Forward Community. At the time, I was seeking connection and healing from the pain of disconnection from myself, from humanity, and feeling lost in the meaning of my life after facing several personal challenges.
Ronit completely transformed the trajectory of my life, as well as the lives of my children. She modeled the importance of living by foundational values such as humility, integrity, care, conscious communication, and co-evolution. These values became a compass for how I show up in the world and how I raise my children. Through these shared values, she cultivated a profoundly safe, caring, and supportive environment for a community of unique and diverse individuals to share authentically our pain points in life. For the first time I felt truly seen, heard, and not alone.
Ronit generously shared her heart, time, and extensive expertise in spirituality, neurology, psychology, and therapy, informed by her years of experience working as a therapist and with victims of trauma in the mobile crisis unit in New York City. She helped me understand how my limited perception of reality and feelings of powerlessness was shaped by my environment growing up, and how my suffering was not due to my inadequacy of ‘not being good enough.’
Ronit facilitated a deeply immersive healing environment for me to rewire my patterns as it required significant intervention from Ronit one on one, as well as through the support of the community. She gave me tools to care for and regulate myself such as pausing, connecting to what I am feeling, and identifying what supportive action I could take in the moment to rewire these harmful thoughts and behavioral patterns.
Ronit set up a strong support system for me such as buddy and shared accountability systems so not I, or anyone was ever alone to overcome our unique challenges. The repetition of these interventions and endless hours supporting me to practice these tools significantly impacted my way of being in that not only did I learn to receive care and support, I was also a capable and active contributor to give care and support to others in the community.
Ronit encouraged me to explore my gifts, interests, and talents as she taught me how everyone is born with their unique essence and gifts. She encouraged me and the community to explore projects where we could use our gifts and talents and created opportunities to practice our shared values. One meaningful example was my involvement in creating Heed the Children, a movement bringing parents, educators, and advocates together to address the harms of social media and smartphones on youth. Through this work, I helped present to public schools and developed new skills while contributing to meaningful change.
Ronit initiated a community-wide “fear challenge,” as a tangible way to prove to ourselves we can overcome our greatest fears. I took on stand-up comedy as it was something that once felt impossible. With years of tools, healing, and support in me, I completed the challenge, and stand-up comedy has since become one of my greatest joys, with performances in New York City and Hong Kong. My children have benefited from witnessing my resilience and courage, something that would not have been possible without Ronit and the Leap Forward Community.
